LAURA MULVEY’S MALE GAZE Vs. KALI UCHIS’S ‘KNOW WHAT I WANT’

* With added Goodwin

The Gaze• Mulvey argued that major Hollywood films

have “coded the erotic into the language of the dominant patriarchal order.” This coding is how the male gaze is established in the media according to Mulvey.

• The gaze is based on the idea that an objectified/passive/sexualized female on screen provides an active male viewer with visual pleasure. Women in the media are looked upon as objects while men become spectators; this process influences how we see and act upon women in society.

UchisThese voyeuristic shots of Uchis conform to Mulvey’s belief that the now iconic image of the female body is used by males in the industry to appeal to the fantasies of the average male viewer. The male gaze can be observed in Uchis’s video, as it combines elements of voyeurism (erotic images of Uchis), narcissism (mirrors and obsession with image) and fetishism (Uchis is dominant over her submissive male victim).

Andrew GoodwinIn each of these shots, Goodwin’s notion of looking is clearly demonstrated; Uchis is constantly the centre of attention. It could even be argued that the use of mirrors enhances the sense of male gaze. However, Goodwin may argue that the notion is used to enforce a star image.